Thursday, October 28, 2010

New Birdlike Dinosaur Found in Argentina

Allosaurus had air-filled bones in its vertebrae and possibly other bones. These spongelike textured bones are "the hallmark of the bellows system of breathing in birds," Ricardo Martínez of the Universidad Nacional de San Juan in Argentina said in a press release.

Martínez, Sereno, and colleagues published their work today in the journal PLoS One.

Birds have a unique way of breathing in which the lungs don't expand, Sereno explained. Instead, the air sacs do the pumping. "It's the reason birds can fly higher and faster than bats, which, like all mammals, expand their lungs in a less efficient breathing process, he said.

Despite their birdlike breathing systems, Aerosteon and similar dinosaurs lacked the large sternum of birds, a specialized rib arrangement, and birdlike hips necessary for flight, Brigham Young's Britt said.

"It shows that evolution is not a chalk line—there are many dead ends," he added.

The connection to the much older Allosaurus also suggests that these types of breathing systems were around in the Jurassic, and that the Allosaurus may have had a more sophisticated breathing system than is currently known, Britt said.

The new dinosaur probably had feathers, but did not actually fly, Sereno said, suggesting that even though this species was birdlike, feathers and air sacs didn't necessarily evolve for flight.

"We suggest that air sacs played a role in cooling off the animal," Sereno said. "Our conclusion is that feathers were for insulation, keeping the animal warm."

Aerosteon probably didn't have sweat glands, which help keep mammals cool, Sereno said. A warm-blooded, active animal may then develop air sacs to cool off, he said.

The research team also suggests that air sacs could have been used for the development of a more efficient lung or to help balance the weight of the dinosaur's top-heavy, two-legged frame.

Isolated

Finding a dinosaur living in isolation is "remarkable," Sereno said. It's like finding a piece of the Jurassic period in the Cretaceous, he added.

Sereno and his team found the Aerosteon fossils in 1996, along the banks of the Colorado River in Mendoza Province, but were able to study them closely only after an arduous and meticulous process of detaching the bones from solid rock.

While researchers were preparing the hipbone, they noticed a crack, Sereno said. This led them to look at a cross section of the bone, which revealed holes related to the air sacs.

Aerosteon may have been able to reach the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, though the specimen found by Sereno's team measures about 33 feet (10 meters).

The research team found crocodiles, among other animals, at the site, where the climate 85 million years ago resembled a "lush, forested area," Sereno said.